Tomorrow marks the first birthday of the introduction of GDPR. Whilst the introduction of the regulation has been a welcome change for protecting both your patients and your clinic the ICO have issued a number of changes and updates to the regulation over the last year which can be difficult for practitioners to keep up with whilst running a busy practice at the same time.

In addition to this, every time you switch on the news or browse through your social media channels, you’ll be certain to see a mention of Brexit. Whilst a large amount of uncertainty remains around the UK’s position with the EU, what we do know for certain is that the importance of data protection at your clinic won’t change. So, what does Brexit mean for GDPR?

GDPR and Brexit

In short, the good news is that GDPR will still largely apply to the UK and your clinic once it has left the EU. Despite currently pursuing motions to leave the EU, the UK has long been committed to bolstering data protection laws and played a key role in shaping the GDPR laws.

In view of this, the UK has already transformed its own data laws in line with GDPR in the form of the Data Protection Act 2008 which is essentially a mirror of GDPR and stitches the tougher EU laws into UK domestic law so there is no need to change any policies at present.

Dealing with EU Patients

The most significant thing for practitioners to remember is that regardless of UK domestic law, if your clinic works with European citizens, you will need to adhere to GDPR. So, it’s best to continue with the processes you have in place to protect both your patients and practice.

It’s also important to remember that if you treat patients in the South of Ireland that GDPR will still apply as the principle law. Thankfully, most of your software products will update their data polices in response to the UK’s position, should it change. If you’d like to know more about how TM3 can help with GDPR compliance, get in touch with one of our experts to discuss the needs of your practice.